A Lesson in Microdermabrasion

I like to think I take care of my skin. I use moisturizer and sunscreen during the day and a rich face cream at night. I began using eye cream at the tender age of 18, hoping my early start would stave off under-eye wrinkles (it hasn’t). I always wash my make-up off at night, no matter how tired or intoxicated I may be. I exfoliate with a light exfoliator cream two to three times a week. I read fashion and beauty magazine religiously, desperately searching for tips on how my skin can be the best it can be. But I’ve never gone for a facial or any sort of fancy skin-saving procedure, due to a mild, slightly irrational fear of going into the spa with my normal peaches-and-cream skin and leaving with lobster-red burned skin. Okay, this fear actually stems from a botched eyebrow wax several years ago, one that left me missing about five layers of skin above my eyes. My brows haven’t looked the same since this unfortunate incident but I decided it was time to move on and conquer my minor fear of facial-related spa treatments. So naturally I jumped at the opportunity to try microdermabrasion when Donna Courage at Relax and Renew Spa in Calmar offered me a chance to try it. Conquering my fears for free? Sign me up!

Courage assured me that people with sensitive skin shouldn’t be scared of microdermabrasion. Courage performed face and neck microdermabrasion on me, free of charge, and it didn’t harm my fair skin. Courage used crystal microdermabrasion on me but she also offers diamond microdermabrasion. After carefully cleansing my face and slipping a pair of tiny goggles over my eyes, Courage rubbed the crystal microdermabrasion tool over my face and neck. The crystals polish your face while another tube sucks up the crystals- kind of like a dentist tool. I did end up with a few crystals in my ears but it’s not a messy procedure. The treatment doesn’t hurt; it feels like a cat is aggressively licking your face. If you happen to have a fear of cats, imagine a small dog licking your face instead.

Courage also does a mini-facial after each microdermabrasion treatment. Courage applied a Dermalogica moisturizer with sunscreen on my flushed face and assured me that the redness would go away in about 10 minutes. Microdermabrasion removes the top layer of dead skin on your face so wearing sunscreen afterwards is a must. Overall, the entire process took about twenty minutes. My face stayed red for about an hour afterwards; like waxing, definitely do not try microdermabrasion an hour before a hot date or any other important life moments. A difference in my skin tone wasn’t immediately obvious but my skin definitely did have an extra glow afterwards. The next morning, my skin felt slightly softer, plus I just felt so darn lady-like and grown-up after my afternoon at the spa. Fear of facials conquered, thank you very much.

For the best result, Courage recommends a series of six microdermabrasion treatments, spaced one week apart. At $120 per treatment, or $480 for a package of five treatments, it’s not exactly inexpensive but it is cheaper than a face-life, or Botox. Microdermabrasion helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars, enlarged pores and age spots by taking away the dead skin on the surface of the face, which also allows products to penetrate the skin more effectively. Although Courage said that twenty-somethings such as myself can benefit from microdermabrasion, I think anyone who already has nice skin could probably hold off on treatments until their thirties, unless they are willing to spend the extra cash now. Microdermabrasion is something I will definitely do when I’m a little bit older and (even) more paranoid about wrinkles and fine lines encroaching on my face.

There are at-home microdermabrasion kits available but I can’t see how they would be very effective. Plus, what sane person does the equivalent of sand-blasting their own face in their very own bathroom, sans goggles (or sans sight, depending on your aim)? While many brave souls test-drive other routine aesthetic procedures such as waxing or hair- dyeing at home, I’ve always preferred the comfort of having an expert perform any procedure that could potentially mess up my appearance (plus it’s always nice to have someone else to blame if things go wrong). Microdermabrasion is a spa treatment best done in the spa, by a trained spa technician who comes complete with goggles and years of practice.